What Dead Birds Tell Us About a Warming World

Scientist seated on sand taking measurements of dead birds neatly arranged in rows

WHEN
Thursday, January 5, 2023
4:30-5:30 p.m. PT

LOCATION
Online on Zoom

Or In-person at Western
Academic Instructional Center West,
Room 204

PRICE
Free


 

Check out this video to watch the What Dead Birds Tell Us About a Warming World.

Environmental Speaker Series

Brought to you by:
WWU College of the Environment
in partnership with the WWU Alumni Association

 

Seabirds are frequently cited as marine ecosystem indicator species. Since 2014, the North Pacific has experienced multiple seabird mass mortality events (MMEs) collectively encompassing several million birds. During this same period of time several types of warming have occurred, including the northeast Pacific marine heatwave, an El Niño event, and the intensification of arctic/sub-arctic warming in the Bering and southern Chukchi Sea.

The relationship between warming events and the likelihood, onset timing, duration, spatial extent and magnitude of MMEs can be explored using citizen/community science beached bird data spanning 30 years of monitoring from four programs stretching from central California north to the Bering Strait region, and involving hundreds of coastal residents. These data indicate that sudden, prolonged warming resulted in a demonstrative uptick in seabird mortality, as the system reset to a lower carrying capacity for these upper-trophic predators.

The Environmental Speaker Series is free and open to the public. Talks are held each Thursday at 4:30 pm in Academic Instructional Center West, room 204. Paid parking is available in lot C. Or join us online on Zoom!

Portrait of Julia K. Parrish

Julia K. Parrish

Speaker

Julia K. Parrish is a marine scientist whose research follows three major routes: marine conservation, seabird ecology, and citizen science. She is the Executive Director of the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), a project that enlists participants from California to Alaska to walk beaches in search of dead birds and marine debris. Additionally, she is Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the College of the Environment. She holds the Lowell A. and Frankie L. Wakefield Endowed Professorship, is a AAAS fellow, a Leopold Leadership Fellow, and was one of 12 “Champions of Change” invited to the White House to speak on public engagement in science, and scientific literacy.

Questions, Accommodations, and Parking

Contact the WWU Alumni Association for this event. Feel free to call at (360) 650-3353 or email at alumni@wwu.edu if you have any questions or comments.

Advance notice for disability accommodations and special needs is greatly appreciated. Please indicate your special needs on the registration form.

There will be auto-captions available for the Zoom webinar.

Limited paid parking is available in the C lots at the south end of campus. WWU parking details—including lot locations, fees, and campus map—are available here.